The present invention generally relates to vehicle lamp assemblies, and more particularly relates to map lamp assemblies for implementation in rearview mirror assemblies.
Recently, with the advent of light emitting diodes (LED) illuminator assemblies capable of emitting white light, LEDs have now been implemented in vehicle lamp assemblies. An example of a rearview mirror assembly incorporating LED map lamps is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,579. In one disclosed example, a plurality of blue-green and amber LEDs was used, which were grouped in two separate groups for emitting light onto the lap area of the driver and front passenger. While such a construction is highly effective and advantageous over assemblies incorporating incandescent bulbs, it is desirable to utilize LEDs having greater light output so as to reduce the component count and the associated cost required for construction of such a rearview mirror assembly, and/or increase the light output from the map lamp assemblies of the rearview mirror. One form of LED developed by the assignee is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,335,548 and 6,441,943. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,441,943, the LEDs disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,335,548 may be placed in mirror assemblies and connected to heat sinks within those mirror assemblies.
While U.S. Pat. No. 6,441,943 discloses several useful concepts for attaching a heat sink to the LEDs used in a rearview mirror, other constructions are needed to allow for different rearview mirror designs that require different mounting techniques.